Islam also understands the evil of gossip and addresses it. It says, “And for those who slander the chaste women but bring not four witnesses, flog them with eighty stripes and never accept their testimony again.” (24:4) Here Islam is recognizing the delicate nature of a woman’s reputation and provides her with additional safeguards.

One such incidence is mentioned in the Holy Qur’an. Hazrat Ayesha was accused of adultery during a travel when she separated from the traveling party. This accusation was brought forth by some Muslims. Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) waited for Divine guidance. Allah the exalted revealed some verses of Sura Noor. In one of these verses first thing Allah the exalted says is, “Why did not the believing men and believing women, when you heard of it, think well of their own people, and say, this is a manifest lie.” (24:12) So, the first principle is that if you hear of some such gossip or allegation, do not right away believe it. In the next verse Allah the exalted says, “Why did they not bring four witnesses to prove it?” This again confirms that if anyone accuses a chaste woman of adultery, they have to produce four witnesses in addition to the accuser. It does not end there. Allah the exalted further says, “You uttered with your mouths that of which you had no knowledge, and you thought it to be a light matter, while in the sight of Allah it was a grievous thing. (24:15) This underlines the importance Islam attaches to the honor, respect and reputation of a woman.

The issue of accusing a man of the same has not been addressed in the Holy Qur’an and therefore no such requirement of the proof exists. This is an important difference and should be kept in mind. It is almost always a man who is accused of rape. In such cases there is no requirement of four eye witnesses. No woman can be asked to bring four eye witnesses if she alleges rape.

The accusation of adultery within a marriage by one spouse against the other is dealt in a different manner. If a spouse accuses other of extramarital sexual relations and cannot produce four witnesses, this is addressed in a special way. The accuser spouse accuses the other before a judge in a court of law and then makes Allah the exalted his/her witness an additional four times by taking oath in His name. The accused spouse can either accept the accusation and will be subject to the punishment or can deny the accusation and then take an oath in the name of Allah the exalted four additional times. If this happens, no punishment is given to either party. Their marriage is immediately and irrevocably annulled. Any child born after the annulment of this marriage is known by his/her mother’s name. He/she only inherits from his/her mother and the mother inherits from him/her.

Another misunderstanding of Islamic law should be noted here. The punishment of stoning to death does not exist in Islam. This punishment was prescribed in the Biblical Law for some crimes, but in the Holy Qur’an this punishment has never been prescribed for any crime. It was the practice of the Holy Prophet (peace be on him) that he would follow the Jewish Law in the absence of Islamic Law. But once the whole of the Qur’an has been revealed there is no need for any other law. Islam is a complete and perfect guidance for mankind for all times to come. Therefore, there is no room for the Biblical punishment of stoning to death.

Rape: There is another matter which is confused with this teaching about adultery. That is the matter of rape. Rape is considered a serious sexual crime in Islam and can be defined in Islamic law as: "Forcible illegal sexual intercourse by a man with a woman who is not legally married to